To be Maria (3 page)

****

            Once her cigarette has burnt down to the butt, Maria flicks it on the ground in a nonchalant manner, then crushes it with the heel of her boot. Slowly, she steps through the double doors, then makes her way down the hall. Not watching where she is going, Maria walks into someone, but Maria doesn’t realize it’s Anya -- the school’s biggest loner -- until she stoops down to help Anya pick up her books.

            "Oh…I'm…sorry."

            "Don't worry about it," Anya says.

            Her voice is so soft that Maria can hardly hear her above the lively chatter of the other students in the hallway. Maria looks up at her and, for a moment, she studies Anya's features and the clothes she is wearing.
Anya is so pretty, but she doesn't realize how homely her shaggy clothes make her look
. "You're Anya, right?"

            Anya forces a smile. "Yes. And you’re Maria. You sat beside me in History I remember, and we exchanged a few notes."

            "I know. That was my first day at this school.”

            Anya appears to be astounded by Maria's good diction of the English language, despite her Spanish accent.    

            "How did you learn to speak English so well?"

            "Oh, I took several English classes, and my dad often speaks English to us at home. He worked with a lot of Brits and Americans," Maria says with a shrug of her shoulders.

            "Well, that probably explains why you’ve had no problem making friends with the popular crowd.”

            Maria is slightly taken aback by the offhanded tone in Anya's voice. "Do you have a problem with that?" she says, shooting her a pointed look.

            "Oh no, not at all. Maria, I didn't mean to sound so rude, it's just…I'm not much of a morning person."

            The look on Maria's face softens. "I understand how you feel."

            "I have to run."

            Maria crumples her brow. "But we have, like, ten minutes before the bell rings."

            "I have to talk to Mrs. Cummings about our project. I'll see you there."

            She disappears down the hall before Maria has a chance to respond to her remark. She breathes out a sigh and smoothes her long, dark curls with her fingers. "That is one weird chick," she says under her breath.

            "Hey, Maria," someone yells from behind.

            Carly! Oh God, I hope she didn't see me talking to Anya
. Maria turns around to face her.

            Carly is the most gorgeous girl in the school: she is tall, slender and she boasts a head full of straight, blond hair, a set of deep blue eyes and salon tanned skin. Maria not only admires Carly for her natural beauty, but also because she comes from a wealthy family. And she happens to be the most popular girl in school.

            "Maria, did I just see you talking to Anya?" she says, tossing her glossy hair over one shoulder.

            The scornful look on Carly’s face makes Maria feel uncomfortable, but she doesn't want to rock the boat.
I'm so lucky that Carly chose me to be her friend. I've always had lots of friends, but none of them were from rich families, so I better not blow it
. "No."

            Carly casts her a suspicious look.

            "I was talking to a girl who looked like Anya. There is another girl in this school who looks like Anya, isn't there?"

            Carly throws her head back and laughs loudly. "Maria, you're so funny. It would be a bad thing if there was another girl who looked like Anya."

            "It probably wouldn't be all that bad if she wore the same clothes as us," Maria says with a small shrug of her shoulders.

            Carly sneers. "Anya is such a loser, and so is her freak boyfriend, Patrick."

            Maria's mouth drops. "Anya is going out with him? I thought they were only best friends."

            "Well, I don't know if they’re going out, but they might as well be. They hang out together all the time. It's a good thing they have each other because if they didn't, this place would be a hell on earth for both of them. Nobody wants anything to do with them. How they got accepted into Mr. Hawthorne's advanced acting class is beyond my comprehension. Between you and me," Carly says, lowering her voice, "Mr. Hawthorne can't tell the difference between talent and mediocrity."

            Maria tugs on a strand of hair. She is at a complete loss of words.
Anya is a strange girl, but she isn't anything what Carly makes her out to be: at least I don't think so.

            Carly lays her hand on Maria's arm. "I know what you're thinking, Maria, and I can't blame you for thinking that way. You've been at this school for only two weeks and so you don't know Anya." The look on her face hardens. "But once you do, you will hate her too."

            The bell rings, abruptly ending their conversation, much to Maria's relief.

            The animated smile instantly reappears on Carly's face. "Sit with me in English?"

            "Okay," Maria says. Carly hates Anya for whatever reason, but Maria actually likes the girl. She could try to be friends with both of them; it won’t go over well with Carly, but it’s worth a try anyway.

            Anya plops herself down in the usual spot; the old, chipped desk in the third row at the front of the classroom.
Dang it all! Maria finally gives me the time of day, but I ran away. God, what is my problem?
She stares at her notes from last class, but she cannot get her mind off of Maria.
I hope I didn't blow it.
She rubs her temples vigorously.
Stop it, Anya. Think about English. You didn't do so well on your last quiz, so you have to ace it this time. If you're going to get Mr. Hawthorne's sponsorship, you have to keep your high honor standing.
Her thought process is rudely interrupted when someone snatches the notes off her desk.

            "Hey, what the..." Anya stops talking when she sees Carly glare down at her. Her blue eyes are like sharp-edged daggers.

            "If I were you, I would not finish that statement," Carly says.

            Over the years, Anya has gotten used to Carly's nasty remarks, but this time she is flabbergasted. "What are you talking about? Can you please give me back my notes?"

            With little effort, Carly tears the loose-leaf pages right down the middle, then throws them on the ground. Everyone in the classroom bursts into laughter. Everyone except for Maria.

            "You better stay away from me, loser, or I'm gonna make your life a living hell!" With an indignant flip of her long hair, Carly marches over to her seat at the back of the room, leaving a stunned Anya sitting alone.

            The cheers of "Wow, Carly. Way to go, Carly," and the slapping of high fives cuts deep into Anya's soul.
So much for acing that quiz, and so much for English today!
On impulse, she grabs her books. She nearly runs right into her teacher as she dashes out of the room.

            "Anya, what's wrong? Where are you going?" Mrs. Cummings says, her face contorted with worry.

            Anya glances at her teacher, unable to express her anguish, so she just turns around and races down the empty hallway. A few times, Mrs. Cummings calls after her, but Anya ignores her. She flings open the girls washroom, then rushes over to the nearest stall. Anya slams the stall door shut, locks it, then sinks to the floor below. She buries her head in her hands, allowing the tears to flow freely down her face.

            Maria set Carly up for that! That bitch! I'm glad I ran away from her. I don't even know why I thought I could be her friend. Because of her, I'm the laughing puppet of my class once again. What the heck was I thinking? I'll never be able to live this one down. And worse, what will Mr. Hawthorne think of me when he finds out about this?
Anya chokes on a sob.
I hate myself and I hate my life! I just wish for once, I could be someone else.

****

            Nadia Cummings trembles all over when she picks Anya's torn notes off the floor. She may be a young teacher--only twenty-five and two years into her career--but she is not naive. She knows when a student is bullying another student, even though she cannot see it. The entire class falls silent when they see the fury in her green eyes. Nadia's piercing gaze falls on Carly Newman. That girl has been nothing but trouble since the beginning of the semester and Nadia would love to say the same for Maria Hernandez. But Maria is new to this school and to this country, so Nadia is inclined to cut her some slack.

            Nadia strides over to the desk where Carly is seated. She slams the torn notes on top of her notebook. The smug look on Carly's face intensifies her anger. She longs to strike the rich brat, but forces herself to keep her hands at her sides.

            "Carly, you will go straight to the library, and you will print out Anya a copy of yesterday's notes, or else your ass is grass!"

            Carly sits back in her chair with her legs crossed and arms folded tightly across her upper torso. She shoots Mrs. Cummings a defiant look. "What if I forgot to take notes yesterday?"

            "I will print her a copy of my notes, Mrs. Cummings," Maria says.

            Nadia casts her an apprehensive look. "Thank you, Maria, but will Anya be able to understand your notes?"

            An aghast remark of "Wow, that's harsh," escapes from one of the blond-haired boys sitting directly behind Maria.

            Maria's face flushes red. "Mrs. Cummings, I've taken several English classes, so I know how to speak and write the language quite well. I wouldn't be in your class if I didn't know English."

            "Then please take your notes to the library," Nadia says, pointing her index finger at the door. Maria's sardonic response just gave Nadia a valid reason to dislike her. She then fixes her steely eyes on Carly. "Carly, leave my classroom right now, and don't you dare come back!"

            Carly doesn't shoot her a snide retort, thankfully; she just snatches her books off the desk, then saunters out of the room. Maria follows Carly, but Nadia is not going to let that young immigrant off the hook.            

            "Maria," she says, making her voice loud and brisk.

            She can tell that, by the way Maria reacts, she is fighting the urge to ignore her.

            "You speak to me in that tone of voice once more and I will make it so hard for you that you'll want to drop out of this class. Now go print out those notes for Anya."

            With a small nod of her head, Maria exits the room, joining Carly in the hallway.

****

            Once they are out of Mrs. Cummings's earshot, Carly says, "When my parents find out about this, that witch will be fired!"

            "I so agree with you. But maybe you shouldn't have ripped Anya's notes up."

            Carly shoots her a piercing look. "So, you're taking that loser's side?"

            Maria turns to face her. "No I'm not, Carly. But you didn't have to be that nasty to her. She didn't do anything to you."

            Carly's nostrils flare. "Maria, you are either with her, or you are with me. You can't have it both ways. But I'll let you know that you have a lot to lose if you choose to be friends with Anya. You'll have no friends. Is that how you want to spend the rest of your grad year?"

            Maria's heart races.
Come on, Maria. You would be stupid to let one little scrap that had nothing to do with you ruin your friendship with Carly. Blow this and you’ll be lonely
. "No, Carly, I really think you're a fun person to be around with."

            The withering look on Carly's face vanishes. "I like you too, Maria. You are drop dead gorgeous and you know how to be sexy. Just don't change who you are."

            Maria smiles at her. "I really should get these notes printed out, but I'll see you at lunch?"

            "Meet me in the cafeteria."

            "Looking forward to it."         

            Maria breathes out a heavy sigh while she slips her notes into the feed of the zerox machine. She thinks that it is incredibly unfair of Carly to treat Anya so miserably when Anya always seems to stick to herself. Then a sudden thought crosses her mind.
Anya could be popular, she has the looks; she just needs to know how to dress and how to act
. Maria's face brightens a little.
I've already befriended half of the kids in our class, so it won't take long before she's one of us.
Then the thought of Carly returns to her mind. It's not going to be easy to convince Carly of Anya's transformation, but Maria has always gotten along with the tough crowd in Madrid, so it shouldn't be too much of a problem if she goes about it the right way. After all, Carly is her friend. Maria rubs her temples vigorously
. Okay, Maria, just forget about it for now and give Anya the notes before Mrs. Cummings decides to send a search party after you
.